Battambang. His Eminence Jean-Pierre Ricard, Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church and Archbishop of Bordeaux et Bazes in France, arrived in Cambodia on 15 July 2012. He has been a Cardinal of the Bordeaux Diocese for the past 6 years. He came to visit the churches and get to know the Catholic community in Cambodia. He arrived in the Battambang Apostolic Prefecture on 25 July 2012 and was received by Msgr. Enrique Figaredo SJ, Fr. Totet Banaynal SJ, Fr. Pedro Gomez, MXY, Fr. Manoj Kumar SJ. A small community lunch was held to welcome the Cardinal.

Cardinal Ricard shared, “I have stayed in Cambodia for 10 days and visited many churches. I saw the way they have developed and became more attractive... Their activities show our identity as a Catholic.” He also celebrated mass in Our Lady of the Assumption Parish on the morning of 26 July 2012 and was welcomed by the churchgoers. He also visited and held mass in St. Joseph Parish in Tahen Village, the parish of Msgr. Kike.

BATTAMBANG: On 22 July 2012, Our Lady of the Assumption Parish held a small gathering for scholars who have completed another year of their studies. July marks the end of classes for most universities in Battambang. 45 students and 9 committee members of the parish including parish priest Fr. Totet Banaynal, attended the celebration. Haem Borey, a church committee member, spoke during the occasion to encourage graduating students. “Please try your best on your studies. The church has already supported you. Now you should find your future by yourself.” Fr. Totet also took the time to congratulate the scholars, “I am very happy to see all of you here trying hard to complete your studies and take part in the activities of our church. We support only the students who really study and maintain good scores in class. I would also like to thank all our volunteers who helped us in our education projects.”

On 15 July, 2012, the finals match for the Bishop’s Cup was held in the football field inside the Peyt Yiey Chee church compound.

32 teams participated during the football competition which ran for 2 weeks, and started on 4 July 2012. Winning team are as follows; for groups under 11 years old the champions were Pet Yiey Chee Team, for groups 12 - 13 years old, the Pet Yiey Chee Team also won, for 14 – 16 years old, the Black Roy team, and for the adult competition, the Theaner Kear Srov, a team supported by a local rice bank won the championship.

Prizes awarded to winning teams included cash grants for champions and runner – up winners as well as a trophy, soccer ball, and fruits.

The Bishop’s Cup is held every year to commemorate Msgr. Enrique Figardedo’s installation as Apostolic Prefect of Battambang. This is the third year of the competition. For more pictures, please visit our Facebook page.

During the mass, Fr. Kike shared in his sermon. “I congratulate the 9 students who are graduating from the university. I have three main points that I want to share with you. First, as you leave the student center, please bring the values that you’ve learned while staying there, with you outside. Try to live in as good a way as you can. Second, try to make your community strong with other people. The last point is that you should share whatever you have learned to help develop the society around you.”

One of the graduating students, and a youth leader, Borath said: “I would like to say thank you so much to Msgr. Kikewho had given us a scholarship to stay for 4 years in the Tep Im center. In the center, we were provided our tuition fees, food, and a place to stay. I would also like to thank Fr. Pedro Gomez and Mr. Noun Chomroun, on behalf of my fellow students, for always taking care of us and supported us in our needs. We promise to stay in touch with Tep Im Center even after we leave. If we have good experience with our work, we will also share this to the students who are still staying in the center. We will also try to live as good citizens in our society.”

BATTAMBANG. On 15 July 2012, Our Lady of the Assumption Parish celebrated the 1st step to Baptism for 32 young people who are on the process of becoming a Catholic. The catechumens study for four years to learn about the Catholic faith, get to know God, and trust in Jesus Christ. Fr Totet Banaynal, SJ and Fr. Manoj Kumar Ekka, SJ celebrated the Mass. During the mass Fr Totet told the catechumens: “Please depend on God for all that you do. Try to know who our God is.” He continues: “There are three things that you should pay attention to; first, accept Jesus Christ as our supporter, second, become familiar with The Gospel, and third, join our community.”

Ms. Vary, one of the catechumens who have undergone the first step, shared “I would like to say thank you to our teachers and all the Catholics who led us to know Jesus Christ. I am very happy to undergo the first step to baptism and I am also grateful for the chance to join this community of brothers and sisters.” Fr. Totet also shared, “We are thankful to all the teachers who have works very hard and shares their time to teach our 32 catechumens as they undergo the steps to baptism.”

There is one more step that catechumens have to undergo before they receive the Sacrament of baptism.

Staff and volunteers of the Apostolic Prefecture Office, Arrupe Welcome Center for People with Disabilities, and the Msgr. Oscar Romero Pastoral Center came together to form and support the Paristhan Football Team. "Paristhan", a Khmer word for "environment" was chosen by the players to advance the advocacy of the pastoral center to care for the environment. The Paristhan team is one of the 32 teams to participate in the 2012 Bishop’s Cup football competition.

During football matches, the Paristhan team played and conveyed its message about environmental protection to the public. Representatives from the three centers/offices gathered wearing a beautifully designed shirt with the message “I Love the Environment” in front and the words “Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, and Replant” written at the back. They cheered for the football team and drew people's attention to the advocacy of the Pastoral Center. This event has drawn the attention of the crowd and they will hopefully put this message into practice.

On Sunday, 08 July 2012 Our Lady of the Assumption Parish in Battambang celebrated the culmination of classes for Catechism students for this year (2011-2012). They studied for nine months from October to July. This year there was a total of 200 students; 93 boys and 107 girls who studied under 18 teachers. During the celebration there was also a trivia game where various questions about passages from the bible, sacraments and other general knowledge about the Catholic faith. Earlier this year, we had 19 students who had their first communion, 13 students who had their confirmation and 29 students who are undergoing the First Step to Baptism on the 15th of this month.

Fr. Totet Banaynal and Sr. Yawasang Lakana, who oversees the catechism classes in the parish presided over the event. Fr. Totet shared “I’m really happy that our catechism is growing here thanks to all the teachers that paid attention to the catechumens and who spends time teaching them every Sunday.”

Gifts were distributed to the students which was donated by donors from Japan.

On 4 July 2012, the Bishop Cup was officially opened. The Bishop’s Cup is a yearly football match open to participation for interested teams of youth and adult players in Battambang, held in the Church grounds. This morning, Msgr. Kike shared opening remarks to wish the players well and officially launch the event. An opening prayer was also led by Fr. Totet to bless those who have gathered to witness the event.

An opening match was held between the Pastoral Center team called Parithan (which means “environment” in Khmer, one of the active social advocacies of the Pastoral Center) and the Msgr. Tep Im Student Center. The Tep Im team won against Partithan with 1 – 0 score.

A total of 32 teams will participate in the Bishop’s Cup for this year. The matches will take place for 2 weeks every Friday, Saturday and Sunday afternoons until the winning teams compete in a Finals Match on July 15. The Bishop Cup was first done in 2010. This is the third year of the competition. For more pictures and information, please visit our Facebook page.

On 2 July 2012, Our Lady of the Assumption Parish celebrated Battambang Prefecture’s Anniversary, Msgr. Enrique “Kike” Figaredo’s 12th year of installation as Apostolic Prefect and Fr. Tunlop Sophal’s 17th year of priesthood.

A mass was concelebrated by Msgr. Kike, Fr. Sophal, Fr. Totet, Fr. Manoj and Fr. Pedro. In his homily, Msgr. Kike emphasized three things; gratitude, strength and happiness. “I thank God for giving me strength, happiness, and joy, in solidarity with the people of the prefecture.” He expressed his gratitude to God for giving him the opportunity to serve the Khmer people. He prayed to give him the strength to continue serving.

Fr. Sophal also shared, “In 17 years of being a priest, I’ve encountered a lot of difficulties but the difficulties and the happiness are both gifts from God. I have strength because of God and also the people; it allows me to continue our works.”

The celebration was attended by about 250 people from different members of the religious organizations and the catholic community. After the mass, people came to give flowers to Msgr. Kike and Fr. Sophal to express their gratitude and appreciation for their presence. The celebration was celebrated with traditional Khmer music, classical Khmer dances. Snacks and dinner was also served.

On 17 June 2012, a concert was held for 13 students who have completed their 3 month music course in the Peyt Yiey Chee Music Program (PMP). This is the first time the students played in a live concert with an audience. There were 4 bands made up of students who studied lead guitar, bass guitar, drums and keyboard instruments. Around 100 people attended the event, mostly the youth from the Catholic community, family and friends of the students. The concert was held on the second floor of the Peyt Yiey Chee building. There was also a special performance by the church choir and the musical instrument teachers.

The PMP course and the concert was organized by Bro. Soo Young, Jesuit scholastic from Korea. “We celebrated this concert because we wanted to encourage the students to show their abilities, be brave, confident, and listen to each other.” The students were also given a certificate for the completion of the course by Fr. Totet (picture above). After the first course, they will again the second and third courses, each for 3 months respectively, to be more proficient with their chosen instrument.